Kuan Yin, Kwan Yin, Avalokiteshvara, Chenrezig
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Kannon statue in Daienin, Mt. Koya, Japan Kuan Yin (also written as Guan Yin, Kwan Yin, Quan Yin etc., and also known as Avalokiteshvara and Chenrezig, ) is the bodhisattva of compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists. Commonly known as the Goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin is also reverenced by Chinese Taoists as an Immortal. The name Kuan Yin is short for Kuan Shih Yin (py: Guan Shi Yin) which means "Observing the Sounds of the World". In Japanese, Kuan Yin is called Kannon or more formally Kanzeon; the spelling Kwannon, resulting from an obsolete system of romanization, is sometimes seen. In Korean, she is called Kwan-um or Kwan-se-um. In Vietnamese, she is called Quan Âm or Quan Thế Âm Bồ Tát. Kuan Yin is the Chinese name for the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (also written Avalokitesvara). However, folk traditions in China and other East Asian countries have added many distinctive characteristics and legends. Most notably, while Avalokiteshvara can be depicted as either male or female, Kuan Yin is usually depicted as a woman, whereas Avalokitesvara in other countries is usually depicted as a man.
History of Kuan Yin, Avalokiteshvara
A statue of the Kuan Yin Bodhisattva, Aomori, Japan.
The exact origin of the religious practices relating to
Avalokitesvara is unclear. Some Western scholars have suggested that the
concept of Avalokitesvara, along with many other supernatural beings in
Buddhism,
was based on a Hindu
deity absorbed by
Mahayana teaching as an aspect of the
historical Buddha Shakyamuni. The word avalokita
means "seeing or gazing down" and īśvara means "lord" in
Sanskrit. Īśvara is also an alternate name for the Hindu
god Shiva, who seems to also have acted as an inspiration
for some of Avalokitesvara's depictions in art.
Along with Buddhism, Kuan Yin's veneration was introduced into China as early as the 1st century CE, and reached Japan by way of Korea soon after Buddhism was first introduced into the country from the mid-7th century. Representations of the bodhisattva in China prior to the Song Dynasty (960-1279) were masculine in appearance. Images which later displayed attributes of both genders are believed to be in accordance with the Lotus Sutra, where Avalokiteshvara has the supernatural power of assuming any form required to relieve suffering and also has the power to grant children. Because this bodhisattva is considered the personification of compassion and kindness, a mother-goddess and patron of mothers and seamen, the representation in China was further interpreted in an all female form around the 12th century. In the modern period, Kwan Yin is most often represented as a beautiful, white-robed woman, a depiction which derives from the earlier Pandaravasini form.
Legends About Kuan Yin, AvalokiteshvaraOne Buddhist legend presents Avalokitesvara as a great person who vowed to listen to the prayers of all sentient beings in times of difficulty, and to never rest or enter Buddhahood until he had freed them all from samsara and they had achieved enlightenment. Despite strenuous effort, he realized that still many unhappy beings were yet to be saved. After comprehending the great demand, he became overwhelmed and his head split into thousands of pieces. Fortunately, a Buddha assembled him back together again. With eleven heads gazing to the front and sides, Avalokiteshvara possesses the unique gift to see everywhere at once and reach out to the needy. A character known as Kwan Yin is also mentioned in the Book of Lie Zi as a Taoist sage, but it is unclear if this refers to the Kwan Yin later venerated as a bodhisattva.
In China, it is said that fishermen used to pray to her to ensure safe voyages. The titles 'Kuan Yin of the Southern Ocean' and 'Kuan Yin (of/on) the Island' stem from this tradition. Another story, possibly Taoist in origin, describes Kuan Yin as the daughter of a cruel father who wanted her to marry a wealthy but uncaring man. She is known as Miao Shan, and her father's realm allegedly Sumatra. She begged to be able to enter a temple and become a nun instead. Her father allowed her to work in the temple, but asked the monks to give her very hard chores in order to discourage her. The monks forced Kuan Yin to work all day and all night, while others slept, in order to finish her work. However, she was such a good person that the animals living around the temple began to help her with her chores. Her father, seeing this, became so frustrated that he attempted to burn down the temple. Kuan Yin put out the fire with her bare hands and suffered no burns. Now struck with fear, her father ordered her to be put to death. After she died she was made into a goddess for all of her kindness and began her journey to heaven. She was about to cross over into heaven when she heard a cry of suffering back on earth. She asked to be sent back and vowed to stay until all suffering had ended. One version of this legend states that, at the point of Kuan Yin's father's execution of her, a supernatural tiger took Kuan Yin to one of the more hell-like realms of the dead. However, instead of being punished by demons like the other inmates, Kuan Yin played music and flowers blossomed around her. This managed to completely surprise the head demon. The story says that Kuan Yin, by being in that hell, turned it into a paradise. Due to her symbolizing compassion, in East Asia Kwan Yin is associated with vegetarianism. Chinese vegetarian restaurants are generally decorated with her image, and she appears in most Buddhist vegetarian pamphlets and magazines.
Tibetan Buddhism - Chenrezig
Avalokitesvara (known as Chenrezig in Tibetan) is an important deity in Tibetan Buddhism. In particular, the Dalai Lama is held to be a manifestation of Avalokitesvara. Other manifestations popular in Tibet include Sahasra-bhuja (a form with a thousand arms) and Ekādaśamukha (a form with eleven faces). In Tibetan Buddhism, White Tara acts as the consort and energizer of Avalokitesvara. According to popular belief, Tara came into existence from a tear of Avalokitesvara. When the tear fell to the ground, it created a lake, and a lotus opening in the lake revealed Tara. Another version of this tale tells that Tara emerged from the heart of Avalokitesvara. In both, it is Avalokitesvara's outpouring of compassion which manifests Tara as a being. Tibetan Buddhism relates Avalokitesvara to the six-syllable mantra Om Mani Padme Hum, also spelled Om Mani Peme Hung and Om Mani Padme Hon. It is for this reason that Avalokitesvara is also called Shadakshari, Lord of the Six Syllables.In the Tibetan tradition, Avalokiteshvara is seen as arising from two sources. One is the relative source, where in a previous kalpa (era), a devoted, compassionate Buddhist monk became a Bodhisattva, thus giving the present kalpa its form of Avalokitesvara. That is not in conflict, however, with the ultimate source view, which is Avalokiteshvara as the universal manifestation of compassion. In brief, it may be said that the Bodhisattva is the anthropomorphised vehicle for the actual deity, serving to bring about a better understanding of Avalokitesvara to humankind. Kuan Yin and the Virgin Mary
Some Chinese of the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Philippines, in an act of syncretism, have identified Kwan Yin with the Virgin Mary. During the Tokugawa shogunate period in Japan, when Christianity was banned and punishable by death, some underground Christian groups venerated the Virgin Mary disguised as a statue of Kannon; such statues are known as Maria Kannon. Many had a cross hidden in an inconspicuous location. Information in this article adapted with permission from Wikipedia. |
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Many
observers have commented on the similarity between Kuan Yin and the Blessed
Virgin Mary of Christianity. The Tzu-Chi Foundation commissioned a potrait
of Kuan Yin and a baby that resembles the typical Madonna and Child
painting.
